Late at Night in the Mess Hall
by flooj9235
Summary: A companion to No Boundaries. Kat's POV onboard the Endar Spire. Oneshot. Femslash premise, but I don't know if there's actually any in here.


Okay, so I was looking around on my computer, and guess what I found! A story! =]

Well, originally, I was going to write No Boundaries from two points of view: one from Bastila, and one from Kat. But, that didn't work out, because Bassy's version just kinda took off. =] So, this can be considered a companion to the scene on the _Endar Spire_ where Bastila finds Kat sitting in the cafeteria.

And I know this doesn't do anything to make up for my absence of late. I have no excuse. Just don't attack me and it's all good. :P

Ahem. Yes. Enough talk.

* * *

I had noticed her a few times before, mostly during meals, but I hadn't ever thought that she'd acknowledge me, a lowly soldier. I wondered what she was like, beneath that icy, bossy manner of hers. Assuming it was the way of the Jedi, none of the soldiers ever approached Bastila. I always had wished that I could have the chance to talk with her, at least for a while.

It surprised me one evening when I was alone in the mess hall. It was late at night when I heard someone walk up behind me. I turned, and she was there, watching me uncertainly. She hesitated and then gestured to the empty seat beside me. "Do you mind?"

I shook my head, staring at the woman that sat beside me and buried her face in her hands for a moment. She sighed and straightened, turning to look at me.

"I'm sorry," I apologized hastily, unsure of why I was apologizing. "I'm Katrina Turmen. But I like Kat better. I, uh, I already know who you are, I mean, but I just--"

The other woman smiled wearily, shaking her head. "It's all right. I don't have time to get acquainted with many of the crew around here, but they all know me any way. It gets really old when people come up to me and start gushing about me killing Darth Revan." Her eyes flicked up to my face momentarily, an unreadable emotion I couldn't place in them. She looked relieved a moment later. Another emotion I couldn't place mingled with the relief I saw.

A droid marched up to us, the only two in the large cafeteria, holding a platter with coffee cups on it. Bastila took one, but I declined, and the droid marched away.

"So," she murmured, sipping the drink. "Katrina…" Her voice was cautious, I supposed, as she tried my name for the first time. "Why are you up so late?"

I shrugged in response, looking down when she looked me in the eye. "I just… I guess I couldn't sleep."

"Oh?" She sounded genuinely concerned. "Why not?"

My heart sank a little. I didn't exactly want to be revealing that I was having weird dreams to my commander. It wouldn't look good on my record. Instead, I just shrugged, muttering something unintelligible.

Bastila seemed to understand that I didn't want to talk about it, and didn't press the matter. She sat there, sipping her coffee silently.

I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, happy that she didn't notice. She looked so tired, I noted with some concern for her. A certain sadness was in the way she held herself, as if she harbored some great pain. Before I could even think about what I was saying, I asked, "What's bugging you?"

The other woman looked surprised at my question, glancing over at me and setting her cup down. She traced the rim with her fingers, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "It's nothing, really," she replied. "I'm just… I lost a friend not too long ago, in the Mandalorian Wars. Every day, I just can't help but wonder…"

I paused, watching as her shoulders slumped a little lower than they had been. "Wonder what?" I prodded gently, surprised at the sadness I was finding in my commander. I had imagined her a happy person, putting up a cold front so no one would approach her with any suggestive plans. I had to admit, she was a very attractive woman, even when she was tired.

"I wonder if things could have turned out differently, if I had tried harder to stop her," she sighed finally. With that, she drained her coffee cup and rose, resting a hand on my shoulder. "Get some sleep, Kat," she murmured. "I have a feeling you'll need it."

I nodded up at her. "You too, ma'am."

I heard her sigh under her breath. She gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze, and headed away. I watched her until the door hissed shut behind her, admiring the grace with which she walked. I sat in the cafeteria a while longer, finally getting up and heading to my quarters, ready to catch some sleep before my shift.

.~=*=~.._..~=*=~.

"Get up, Turmen!"

I groaned, getting thrown out of my bed by an explosion a moment later. That woke me up. "What's going on?" I asked, recognizing my bunkmate, Trask Ulgo.

"We're under attack! The Sith found us!"

As soon as I dressed, we hurried through the ship, heading for the escape pods. Trask kept muttering something about the ship getting blown up any minute. We were almost there when we ran into a Dark Jedi. The next thing I knew, Trask was gone and I was at the escape pods, getting jammed in with a pilot.

.~=*=~.._..~=*=~.

I woke up a few days later, and with the pilot, named Carth, we ventured around and found out that Bastila was still alive. My mind flashed back to the woman I had met in the cafeteria, her sadness, and I knew I wanted to help her. To do anything I could.

Carth and I picked up a few helpers, a young alien named Mission and her Wookiee friend Zaalbar. Together, the four of us were able to find out that Bastila was trapped and being put up as a prize in a race. I hurried out and entered the race, nearly crashing the swoop bike a few times. Finally, I got the hang of it, and I ended up winning.

Just as I was about to receive my "prize", the operator of the race withdrew Bastila as the prize, saying that he'd just found out that she was a Jedi. The next moment, Bastila burst out of her cage, pulling a neural disruptor off her head.

The operator was too stunned to do much of anything, and with a quick nod from Bastila, she and I killed them all. Bastila darted to the dead operator and took a pack that I presumed had her things in it. Slinging it over her shoulder, she turned to me. "Katrina, right?"

I nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Come on," I told her after an awkward pause where her piercing eyes were locked on me. "We should get back to Carth and the others. Maybe together we can all figure out how to get off this damned rock."

.~=*=~.._..~=*=~.

Working together, Bastila and I ventured off on our own, finding a Mandalorian that was willing to help us. He snuck us into his boss's base, where we stole his ship.

We picked up the rest of our little crew, and as we flew off, we watched as Darth Malak's forces moved in and began destroying the entire planet.

* * *

…And that was all I had. I liked the interaction in the mess hall, which I guess is why I kept it. =] I hadn't really explained all that that well in No Boundaries, so there it is. Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
